Refused as a Disciple, Zhunti Blocks the Way

No one could have expected that Hong Yun would ultimately be rejected!

After Hongjun received Hong Yun's guidance on the opportunity to attain the Dao, he prepared to enter seclusion.

He would not leave the mountain until he became a Saint.

Left with no choice, Hong Yun could only temporarily give up on Hongjun as the target praised by the strongest system in the Primordial Wilderness.

Hongjun was quite tempted by Hong Yun's proposal to become his disciple.

Whether it was because of Hong Yun's guidance or Hong Yun's aptitude and comprehension, Hongjun had no reason to refuse him.

However, just as Hongjun was about to agree, the Heavenly Dao within the Nether gave him a revelation.

After a round of deductions, Hongjun discovered that he was destined to have several disciples.

These disciples were related not only to the development of the Primordial Wilderness but also to Hongjun's future Great Dao.

Since this concerned his Dao path, Hongjun was very cautious and therefore did not agree to accept Hong Yun.

In the end, Hong Yun obtained a promise from Hongjun: on the day Hongjun accepted disciples, he would take Hong Yun under his tutelage.

There's hope of becoming his disciple. This means that the death tribulation Hong Yun faced in his previous life has been completely resolved!

After leaving Hongjun's Daoist sanctuary, Hong Yun looked back at the immortal mountain that had vanished without a trace and smiled happily.

Even though he had been rejected on the spot, Hong Yun was not disappointed.

At Hongjun's level, every word and action of a seeker of the Dao would be recorded by the Great Dao.

Promises in particular could not be broken lightly. Otherwise, one would surely suffer the backlash of the Great Dao.

At best, one would suffer cultivation deviation; at worst, one's Dao path would be severed!

With this scheme, Hong Yun had essentially secured a Saint position ahead of time!

In his previous life, all six Saints of the Primordial Wilderness had been disciples of Hongjun's Xuan Sect.

Aside from them, Eastern Emperor Tai Yi, Di Jun, Zhen Yuanzi, Minghe, Kunpeng, and even the Twelve Ancestral Witches had no opportunity to become Saints.

Only Ancestor Witch Houtu had transformed herself into the reincarnation cycle with a body of great compassion, relying on Great Dao Merit to condense a strand of her primordial spirit and achieve the Earthly Dao Saint Fruit Position.

He reached out and took out a green shard, around which a strand of purple energy coiled.

"This poor Daoist truly is a person of great fortune!"

Hong Yun toyed with the shard, his eyes filled with infatuation.

This shard was also Hong Yun's greatest harvest from his trip to Jade Capital Mountain.

"As expected of a Creation Treasure. It actually contains a foundation of the Great Dao!"

That was right. This shard was a small fragment of the Chaos Treasure, the Jade Disk of Creation. Stored within it was also a foundation of the Great Dao—the Primordial Violet Qi—that could allow someone to attain the Dao.

"With this treasure, this poor Daoist might be able to refine the cultivation fragments even faster!"

After muttering to himself, Hong Yun put away the Jade Disk of Creation Shard. He mounted the Void-Escaping Shuttle once more and flew toward Buzhou Mountain.

What Hong Yun did not know was that while he and Hongjun discussed the Dao, the Great Powers of the same era had also emerged one after another.

The Three Pure Ones of Kunlun Mountain, Jieyin and Zhunti of Mount Sumeru, Fuxi and Nuwa of Phoenix Perch Mountain, Eastern Emperor Tai Yi and Di Jun of the Sun Star, Zhen Yuanzi of Longevity Mountain, Minghe of the Sea of Blood, Kunpeng of Northern Darkness, and the Twelve Ancestral Witches of Buzhou Mountain—all the Innate Divine Beings had transformed and emerged.

The Primordial Wilderness, which had been peaceful for millions of years, became lively once more.

With more people came conflict!

Another thousand years passed in the blink of an eye. During those thousand years, Hong Yun had grown accustomed to the conflicts between living beings.

Several blind fools had even dared to block Hong Yun's path. Naturally, Hong Yun showed no mercy and casually slew them.

Everything continued until Hong Yun emerged from a valley where he had gone treasure hunting.

"Fellow Daoist, please stay!"

Just as Hong Yun was about to flee, that familiar line came again, and his expression immediately fell.

When Hong Yun took a closer look, he saw that the person blocking his path was a thin Daoist dressed in a plain-colored Daoist robe.

The Daoist had a dignified and solemn appearance, a compassionate expression, and held a Seven Treasures Wonderful Tree in his hand. A peaceful smile adorned his face, and upon seeing Hong Yun, his smile grew even wider.

"He's only at the early Grand Unity Golden Immortal stage! Thank goodness, thank goodness!"

Hong Yun calmly sized him up. After seeing through the other party's cultivation, he secretly let out a sigh of relief.

Hong Yun had been afraid of encountering another reclusive Great Power like Hongjun.

It was only because Hongjun had a good temper and did not take offense at Hong Yun's intrusion into his Daoist sanctuary. If it had been another Great Power, Hong Yun would probably have died on the spot.

With his mid-stage Grand Unity Golden Immortal cultivation, dealing with a mere early-stage Grand Unity Golden Immortal would be easy.

However, Hong Yun did not immediately turn hostile or attack. Instead, he first intended to probe the other party's identity.

Only after learning the other party's identity could he use the system's functions.

There's something wrong with your thinking if you aren't enthusiastic about plucking wool!

"I am Hong Yun. Greetings, fellow Daoist. May I ask why you have blocked this poor Daoist's path?"

A smile even more "kind" than the other party's instantly appeared on Hong Yun's face. His image as a good-natured man, combined with his gentle and refined bearing, caused the other party's vigilance to drop somewhat.

"So you are Fellow Daoist Hong Yun. I have long heard of you. I am Zhunti. May I ask whether you just took out an item belonging to this poor Daoist from within this grotto-heaven?"

The thin Daoist—who was none other than Zhunti—smiled as he studied Hong Yun and sensed his aura.

"Only at the mid-stage Grand Unity Golden Immortal level! Nothing special!"

After sensing that Hong Yun's aura showed only mid-stage Grand Unity Golden Immortal cultivation, Zhunti's vigilance relaxed even further.

What he did not know was that after being "educated" by Hongjun, Hong Yun had become deeply versed in the Dao of "lying low."

After leaving Jade Capital Mountain, Hong Yun had done nothing during these thousand years except pluck wool. He had devoted himself to refining the remaining fragments of Dao Ancestor Hongjun's Great Dao insights, and had used the Jade Disk of Creation Shard to create several secret techniques for preserving his life.

The Breath Concealment Art was the most outstanding among them.

Unless someone's cultivation was two Small Realms higher than Hong Yun's, or unless Hong Yun voluntarily revealed himself, no one could see through his true cultivation.

This secret technique had made considerable progress over the past thousand years, and Hong Yun had used it to ambush quite a few "small fry."

Faced with such shameless words from Zhunti, Hong Yun could not help but want to laugh.

It truly was no wonder that he was known as the most shameless person in the Primordial Wilderness. He had opened his mouth and immediately tried to claim the spirit treasure Hong Yun had just obtained as his own.

"Fellow Daoist must be joking. This grotto-heaven was ownerless to begin with. How could it contain something belonging to you?"

Hong Yun deliberately looked displeased, pretending to rebuke him on the surface.

With one hand hidden behind his back, he secretly sent a spell formula into the void.

The Mana stirred by this spell formula was extremely well concealed. Even Zhunti, who was at the early Grand Unity Golden Immortal stage, failed to detect it.

Zhunti's expression did not change when he heard this, and he continued to argue, "Fellow Daoist, you are mistaken. This poor Daoist entered this grotto-heaven a hundred years ago. I merely had an urgent matter to attend to, allowing you to take advantage of the opportunity."

"This item is fated to be mine. Please return it to this poor Daoist at once. There will certainly be a generous reward in the future!"

Hong Yun continued, "Oh? Then may I ask, fellow Daoist, what shape is the item? How large is it? What is it made of?"

"This..."

Zhunti was momentarily speechless. However, his skin was thick enough, and after turning the matter over in his mind, he smiled and said, "This poor Daoist was in a hurry to leave at the time and did not examine it carefully. I imagine the item must be extremely precious. Please take it out and let this poor Daoist identify it."

Zhunti had already made up his mind. He wanted the items inside the cave, and he also wanted the treasures on Hong Yun.

"Hmph. What if this poor Daoist refuses?"

Hong Yun's expression suddenly turned cold.

"Then it won't be up to you, fellow Daoist!"

Zhunti slowly advanced on Hong Yun, a trace of mockery appearing on his face. "Surely fellow Daoist won't be so foolish. You should know that though treasures are precious, you only have one life!"

"Heaven has the virtue of cherishing life, and this poor Daoist is unwilling to see you perish here. Please return this poor Daoist's item at once!"

Zhunti's plain-colored Daoist robe fluttered without wind, and the Seven Treasures Wonderful Tree in his hand radiated multicolored light.

The aura unique to an early-stage Grand Unity Golden Immortal enveloped Hong Yun from all directions.

"What shamelessness! A robber who seizes things by force. Forgive this poor Daoist for declining your company!"

The Mana within Hong Yun erupted instantly. He turned around and pretended to flee on clouds, but secretly slowed his speed, afraid that Zhunti would be unable to catch up.

"Jiejiejie! Fellow Daoist, please stay!"

Zhunti let out an eerie laugh.

How could he allow the duck already in his mouth to fly away? With a wave of his hand, the Seven Treasures Wonderful Tree swept toward Hong Yun.

A mass of multicolored radiance immediately shot toward Hong Yun's back.

The radiance landed on Hong Yun, and his figure seemed to disperse like a cloud of mist.

However, in the next moment, Zhunti's expression changed...